As expected, Barry and Johnson promise standup war at UFC on FOX 3

If you weren’t 100 percent certain that heavyweight sluggers Pat Barry (7-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC) and Lavar Johnson (16-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) were going to stand in the pocket and duke it out on the feet, they each provided verbal confirmation on Tuesday.

Both heavyweights said their UFC on FOX 3 matchup, which takes place May 5 at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., is going to provide guaranteed fireworks.

“Lavar and I are both allergic to jiu-jitsu,” Barry said at Tuesday’s press conference. “That’s a fact. We’re also allergic to rounds two and three. Will we see a lot of beginner-level wrestling and grappling on the 5th? Most likely not.”

It’s not exactly a revelation. After all, with 20 knockouts in 22 combined career wins, both fighters’ gameplans have been consistent throughout their careers. But one wonders if once Barry and Johnson taste a little leather, perhaps they’ll elect to change up their approach.

Johnson doesn’t think so.

“This fight right here is going to put me on the map,” Johnson said. “Pat’s a tough fighter. I feel I match up very well with him. He’s not looking to go to the ground. I’m not either. I’m trying to come up and try and smash him and make it happen.”

There will be a substantial size difference between the 6-foot-4 Johnson and the 5-foot-11 Barry, but as one of the shorter heavyweights in the UFC, that’s nothing new to “HD.” There is a common opponent to evaluate in Joey Beltran, who went 15 minutes with Barry but was stopped in the opening round by Johnson.

Barry, who was cageside for Johnson’s win over Beltran, admits even he was impressed by the destruction of the durable “Mexicutioner.”

“Lavar Johnson has beyond heavy hands,” Barry said. “He was able to knock out Joey Beltran who, one, has never been knocked out and, two, has never been knocked down in his career.

“I kicked Joey Beltran in the head five times, and he didn’t even blink his eyes, which I’ve never doubted myself, ever – 100 kickboxing matches, 10 MMA fights, I’ve never in my life ever thought, ‘Whoa, maybe I don’t hit that hard,’ until that fight. He was able to punch him in the head with four of the nastiest uppercuts ever to where Joey Beltran landed, and it almost looked like he broke his neck when he fell down.”

Barry vs. Johnson won’t have any immediate impact on the UFC’s heavyweight title picture, but both sluggers could gain a great deal of traction in the division with an impressive performance on network television.

Johnson, who has gone from Strikeforce Challengers anonymity to a featured bout on FOX in less than 18 months, is aware of what’s at stake.

“My first fight in the UFC was in Chicago a couple of months ago,” Johnson said. “My performance got me here.

“I’m just blessed to be fighting in the best fighting organization there is, and I’m very happy to be here. I’m not going to let this opportunity pass me up. I’m going to go out here and give it my all.”

For Barry, a victory would give him the first two-fight octagon win streak of his career. But the fan-favorite slugger doesn’t seem too interested in instituting a safety-first mentality. Instead, he seems most focused on delivering yet another crowd-friendly performance.

“Does he hit hard?” Barry asked. “I guarantee he does. He’s huge. Do I hit hard? Yeah, sure. If it lands, it’s not going to feel good, at all.

“The dude’s fists are the size of my head. I think we’re going to do our damndest to punch each other a lot.”

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